The Business Of Platforms by Michael A. Cusumano

Strategy in the Age of Digital Competition, Innovation, and Power

This book explains how digital platforms create value by facilitating exchanges among multiple user groups, leveraging network effects, data, and modular architectures to scale rapidly; it outlines strategies for designing, governing, and monetizing platform ecosystems, competing with both traditional firms and other platforms, and managing challenges such as congestion, quality control, and regulatory scrutiny. Drawing on extensive case studies and research, it offers practical guidance for executives and entrepreneurs on platform strategy, partner relationships, pricing, and the trade-offs between openness and control that determine long-term success.